Explore North India as it was meant to be discovered. These itineraries are meticulously planned and facilitated so as to let our guests experience the very best that North India has to offer.

The North India Tours listed in the above table of this page are part of Our First Visit Collection, so they can be relished as part of our ultra small group departures (maximum of 12 guests) and they can also be enjoyed on your choice of dates as independent visits.

The itineraries include visits to North India's main tourist attractions, as well as many opportunities to observe local color and customs. You will explore the major monuments and also get to see everyday life. You will stay in North India's finest luxury and boutique hotels and get to mix with the locals.

You can add other destinations and attractions before and/or after the small group tours. South India offers some great coastal resorts (including a few amazing islands) as well as Ayurvedic centers. If you desire something different, please visit our build your own tour page and let us put together a custom proposal for you.

The geography, climate, and culture of Northern India is very different from the South. North India bore the brunt of countless invasions over thousands of years, as well as being the land where many of these invaders chose to settle and make their home. North India’s architecture, culture, and people reflect the absorption of all these influences.

It is home to the great Himalayas and other magnificent mountain ranges, the fabled deserts of Rajasthan, and includes the vast fertile plains of Central and Eastern India. The Northern parts of the country have seen the most change over the eons, and even today, tend to absorb and accept changes in beliefs and ideas a little easier than most of what we have termed as Southern (with the striking exception of Mumbai) India.

New Delhi is the capital of India and the home of the largest bureaucracy in the democratic world. It is also the nation’s primary center for fine arts and other cultural endeavors. Architecturally and socially, the city is a diverse mosaic, woven with the tapestries of the cultures that have ruled and/or inhabited Northern India over the last eight centuries. There is amazing art and architecture all over Delhi; from the awe inspiring 16th century Mosques, palaces, forts, & other monuments of the Mughal Empire, to the magnificence of countless other buildings and structures. These can range from structures many thousands of years old, to the numerous impressive bureaucratic buildings constructed during the "British Raj". Just a few examples are Mughal achievements like the massive Red Fort (and the city inside it) and the towering Qutab Minar; classic British era structures India Gate and Rashtrapathi Bhawan; modern edifices like the magnificent Bahai Temple; as well as numerous gardens designed and laid out many centuries ago.

Because it is the city of the incomparable Taj Mahal, Agra's many other historical and architectural monuments get far less attention than they deserve. There are magnificent palaces, forts, mausoleums, as well as various other similar structures. Spectacular historical reminders flourish all over this area, and you can choose how many of them you want to visit.

Located on the banks of the Hindu holy river Ganga, Varanasi (The Eternal City) is one of the most visited pilgrimage destinations in a land blessed with many. Near here (at Sarnath), about twenty five hundred years ago, the Lord Buddha preached his message of Enlightenment for the very first time. Two thousand years ago, it was a well planned city, famous for its universities and places of worship. It has survived onslaughts by India's Mughal Emperors, who destroyed some of the ancient Hindu temples and learning centers. The famous Ghats, Hindu Temples, Muslim Mosques, and various museums are almost all worth a visit.

Rajput culture considers pink to be the color of hospitality; hence the pink walls of the Old City in Jaipur. Constructed in the early 18th century, Rajasthan's capital has broad and open streets and is very well laid out. Maharaja Jai Singh II, after whom it is named, was a great astronomer who also had Jaipur's Jantar Mantar designed and constructed. The king and his architect built Jaipur using ancient Hindu principles of civic planning and design, and created a city full of magical color and beauty.

Udaipur was founded in the middle of the 16th Century. Known as the "City of Lakes" and also as "The Venice of the East", Udaipur is situated in picturesque surroundings with beautiful lakes and the Aravali mountain range surrounding it. It is home to more grand palaces and other architecture than any other city in Rajasthan, a land full of magnificent palaces and forts.

If you’d like to experience a land taken straight out of a fairytale and the Himalayas interest you, you should consider visiting Ladakh. The awe inspiring beauty of this high altitude region, though different from the lush valleys of Srinagar, has a charm not found anywhere else on the planet except for Tibet, where it is tragically changing very fast, and will soon be lost forever.